


Straight A's, Dumb Daze

by ShowMeAHero



Category: Daredevil (Comics), Daredevil (TV), Marvel
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Still Have Powers, Domestic, Domestic Fluff, F/M, Family, Fluff, Humor, Kid Fic, M/M, Meet-Cute
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-07
Updated: 2018-11-07
Packaged: 2019-08-20 01:38:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 5,539
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16546352
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShowMeAHero/pseuds/ShowMeAHero
Summary: Matt Murdock is late picking his son up from elementary school. Luckily, Jack's teacher is pretty understanding the first time.And the second time....And the third time.And then, of course, Matt starts to catch feelings.





	Straight A's, Dumb Daze

**Author's Note:**

> Title taken from ["Teacher's Pet"](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OI0_3Z1Hkoo) from _School of Rock,_ the musical.

Matt is  _ sprinting  _ to the elementary school. He started his own law firm by himself, which he  _ thought  _ was a good idea, but now he’s the only one who can stay late at The Law Offices of Matthew M. Murdock whenever there’s a huge case. That always causes problems when he needs to pick up Jack from school, especially when his phone dies so his alarm doesn’t go off and no calls come through and then he’s  _ two hours late  _ to the school.

Matt slams through the front door of the school, makes a mental note to look into the security at the school, and runs to Jack’s classroom based on muscle memory. He leans in the doorway, remembering his cane at the last second. He at least has to  _ act  _ normal. He snaps the cane out and taps at the ground. He hears Jack’s heartbeat inside, with his teacher’s.

“Ah, Mr. Murdock has arrived,” Mr. Nelson says. Matt offers what he hopes is a very apologetic smile.

“Daddy!” Jack exclaims. His footsteps jog over to Matt, and then he whispers, “You didn’t answer your phone! I thought you were hurt or you’d forgotten about me.”

Matt’s chest seizes. He leans down and scoops Jack up, holding him on his hip.

“Of course I didn’t forget about you,” Matt says. He aims to kiss Jack on the top of his head, but he ends up on his forehead. Close enough. “I was working on the Cardellini case.”

“The one with that mayor?” Jack asks. He yawns. Matt feels  _ horrible. _

“Yeah, that’s the one.” Matt turns towards where he hears Mr. Nelson’s heartbeat. “I am so,  _ so  _ sorry. I know it’s no excuse, but I am really sorry.”

“Nah, no worries,” Mr. Nelson says. It sounds like he’s packing his stuff up. “I didn’t have many plans tonight anyways. Just working on my lesson plan for tomorrow, and Jack helped me out with that, didn’t he?”

“Yeah!” Jack agrees. Matt strokes his hair, then frowns slightly. “Do you like my hair?”

“Is this a braid?” Matt asks.

“Mr. Nelson did it,” Jack tells him. “I told him I wanted hair like his.”

“Yeah, Jack’s hair isn’t very long, but I did my best,” Mr. Nelson says. “We can’t all have long, beautiful hair like mine, can we?”

Jack laughs. Matt squeezes him.

“Again, I’m so sorry,” Matt repeats. “It won’t happen again.”

“No problem,” Mr. Nelson says. “Jack helped me clean up, helped me with my lesson plan. Really, I should be thanking you. He’s my apprentice.”

“I could be a teacher,” Jack comments.

“I thought you wanted to be a lawyer?” Matt asks, but he can’t help but smile. Jack laughs, dropping his head on Matt’s shoulder.

“I can be both,” Jack tells him.

“Heck yeah, you can,” Mr. Nelson agrees. “You can be a teacher, slash lawyer, slash… What was it you wanted to be? A scientist?”

“Yup!” Jack says. Matt adjusts his grip on Jack. He didn’t know Jack wanted to be a scientist. He’s not feeling exactly like father of the year, at present.

“Alright, well, Jack, Mr. Murdock, allow me to take you out of this dark and spooky school,” Mr. Nelson says. Jack laughs. Matt follows Mr. Nelson’s footsteps out of the classroom and down the hall to the front doors of the school. “Alright, you two, stay safe, have fun getting home. Look out for any rogue mayors you’ve got cases against.”

“Daddy can fight them off,” Jack says. Matt forces a laugh.

“Thanks, Mr. Nelson,” Matt says. “See you tomorrow at drop-off. Well, not literally.”

Mr. Nelson laughs. It’s a loud, genuine sound. It makes Matt actually smile back.

“You’re clever,” Mr. Nelson says. “See you tomorrow, Murdocks.”

“See you, Mr. Nelson,” Jack replies. Matt hears Mr. Nelson leave, and he turns his attention to Jack.

“Jack, honey, I’m sorry,” Matt says. Jack shrugs. “No, it wasn’t good of me. I shouldn’t be late picking you up.” Jack shrugs again. Matt hums to himself, then says, “How about we get milkshakes tonight?”

“Okay!” Jack exclaims. He throws his arms around Matt’s neck and leans into him. Matt tucks his cane away once he hears Mr. Nelson get far enough away, and he carries Jack all the way to the subway.

* * *

A week later, Matt is late picking Jack up from school,  _ again,  _ and he wants to  _ die. _

“Shit, shit, shit,” Matt hisses to himself. He strips off the layers of his Daredevil armor and throws them into his bedroom. He almost forgets the helmet, ripping that off last and flinging it at his mattress. He tugs on sweatpants, a sweatshirt, and sneakers before sprinting out the door. He jogs back in a second later to grab his glasses and shove them back on before he runs out to the subway station. Luckily, the train is actually running on time, so he’s off and darting between people on the sidewalk before he knows it. He makes it to the elementary school in record time, but still a couple of hours late, and he almost smashes through the front door when it doesn’t open.

Matt presses the intercom button once, then twice, holding it down and letting it buzz. It grates on his ears and, after a minute, the door opens.

“Hey, Mr. Murdock,” Mr. Nelson says. Matt can hear his heartbeat and Jack’s, next to him, but Jack doesn’t move any closer to him. “You okay? You’re, like, drenched in sweat, and— I mean, you look like you’ve got a bruise? On your face? You okay?”

Matt’s own heart is pounding, but he says, “Yeah, I’m good, sorry. I was at the gym and my… watch battery died.” He holds out a hand, and, after a moment of nothing happening, Jack slips his own hand into it. Matt squeezes his fingers.

“Were you fighting again, Daddy?” Jack asks. He knows about all the Daredevil stuff, because Matt never wants to lie to him, but he’s not totally good at the tact thing yet.

“Yeah, Jackie, we’ll talk at home,” Matt murmurs. Matt hears Jack’s hair brush his shoulders as he nods his head. Matt turns his face back up. “I’m so sorry, Mr. Nelson, I know I said it wouldn’t happen again. I feel terrible.”

“Hey, it happens,” Mr. Nelson says. “You can call me by my first name, too. It’s Foggy.”

“It is?” Matt asks, at the same time Jack says, “That’s not a name, Mr. Nelson.”

“It is  _ so  _ a name, it’s  _ my  _ name,” Mr. Nelson — Foggy — says. “My  _ birth  _ name was Franklin, but that name is terrible, so, my sister called me Foggy, and Foggy I became.”

Jack laughs. “Jack isn’t my name, either!”

“I know, I have your attendance sheet,” Foggy says. Jack sighs. “Sorry, sorry. What I meant to say was: Cool, no way! What’s your name?”

“It’s Jonathan!” Jack tells him.

“Incredible!” Foggy exclaims. “Jonathan Murdock. Who would’ve thought?” Foggy crouches down, and drops his voice. Matt can still hear him, of course, because he can hear everything on the block and beyond, but he pretends he doesn’t. “Hey, Jack, remember what we talked about.”

“Feeling our feelings is okay and we should talk them through,” Jack says, like he’s repeating something he’s been told. “But what if I—”

“It’s okay,” Foggy says. “You’re doing really well, I’m proud of you.”

“Thanks, Foggy,” Jack says. Foggy laughs.

“It’s still Mr. Nelson to you, buddy,” Foggy tells him. Jack lets go of Matt’s hand to, apparently, hug Foggy, based on the sound of it. “Go home, get some rest. We’re gonna be doing more addition tomorrow.”

“Ugh,” Jack says. He lets go of Foggy and puts his hand back into Matt’s. “I don’t like math.”

“But you’re so good at it!” Foggy tells him. “We’ll work on it. Hey, Mr. Murdock,” he says, and Matt turns his face in the direction of his voice.

“Matt’s fine,” Matt says.

“Hey, Matt,” Foggy tries again. Matt smiles without even intending to. “I’m going to give you my cell phone number. If you’re going to be late again, do you mind shooting me a text or giving me a call? Just so I know when I might have to stay longer.”

“Oh, yeah, sure,” Matt says. He digs his phone out of his pocket and taps in Foggy’s number when he recites it to him. “I’ll— text you. So you’ll have my number.”

“Thanks,” Foggy says. He pats Jack on the shoulder.

“I’m so sorry, again,” Matt tells him. “I didn’t mean— I mean, of course I didn’t. It was a whole— thing. I’m so sorry.”

“No worries,” Foggy says. “It’s all part of the job, and I don’t mind hanging out with Jack. He’s super helpful.”

“He is,” Matt agrees. “Ready to go home, Jack?”

“Yes,” Jack says.  “Goodbye, Mr. Nelson.”

“Bye, Jack,” Foggy says. “Bye, Matt.”

“Bye,” Matt echoes. He listens to Foggy leave, then he kneels down and tugs Jack into a hug. Jack’s stiff, for a second, before he lifts his arms and wraps them around Matt’s neck.

“I’m so sorry, Jack,” Matt tells him. Jack squeezes a little more tightly. “There was an accident and Aunt Jessica needed my help. I’m so sorry you had to stay at school late.”

“Mr. Nelson told me to tell you that it made me feel sad and mad,” Jack says. “Because I was worried about you and I wanted to help you but I didn’t know what to do. And you didn’t call. So, I was a little scared. And I wasn’t happy.”

Matt wants to cry. He pulls back and puts his hands on Jack’s face, cupping it in his hands. “I know. I’m so sorry. What can I do to make it up to you?”

“I want to know where you are,” Jack says. Matt strokes Jack’s cheeks with his thumbs, then pulls him in again, hugging him tightly.

“I’ll make sure you always know where I am,” Matt tells him. “I’ll never leave you, or forget about you, though. Okay? I promise.”

“Okay,” Jack whispers. “You have a black eye again.”

“I’m sorry,” Matt says. He sits down on the ground entirely, pulls Jack into his lap, and just holds him for a while. He buries his face in Jack’s hair. It’s braided again. Matt strokes his hair, rubs his back, and Jack calms down, bit by bit. Eventually, he lets Matt lead him by the hand back to the subway station.

* * *

After the past two weeks, Matt figured he had it together. He did. He really,  _ really  _ did.

He didn’t count on the absolute unreliability of public transit.

He sighs, tapping on his phone and lifting it to his ear to hear the time again. He’s an hour and a half late and his train  _ still  _ is not moving. He had texted Foggy when the train first stopped, but it’s already been a while, so he texts him again. He almost jumps when his phone starts vibrating, saying,  _ Foggy, Foggy, Foggy— _

Matt swipes to answer and says, “Hello?”

“Hey, Matt Murdock,” Foggy says. “I’ve got Jack here and he’s saying he never gets fed at home.”

“I did not!” Jack exclaims. Matt smiles.

“No, he did not, but it’s getting late and he’s getting hungry, and so am I, so I figured I’d offer to take him to the diner down the street for dinner,” Foggy says. “Eleanor’s Place? You know it?”

“Yeah, I know it,” Matt says. “I don’t want to impose on you, at all.”

“Oh, no, it’s nothing,” Foggy tells him. “It’s mostly for me. I’m hungry, too. I’d leave Jack at the school if I could.”

“Hey!” Jack shouts.

“Hey yourself, Murdock,” Foggy says to Jack.

“Please, Daddy?” Jack asks through the phone. “You’re stuck on the train forever and I want eggs or a burger maybe.”

“I’m not stuck  _ forever,”  _ Matt says. “Okay, fine. But I’ll be there soon, okay?”

“Okay!” Jack answers.

“We’ll see you soon,” Foggy tells him. “No worries, no rush, all fine.”

“Don’t have any plans?” Matt asks, before he can think better of such a  _ stupid  _ fucking question. There’s a beat of silence.

“Nah, not really,” Foggy answers. “Most of my time is spent at the school or doing things for the school, so, it’s not like this is all that different.” There’s a beat of silence, and then Foggy says, “It’s fine.”

“I didn’t—”

“It’s fine,” Foggy repeats. “We’ll see you soon, Murdock.”

“See you soon,” Matt says. “Bye, Jack.”

“Bye, Daddy!” Jack calls. Matt hangs up the phone and resigns himself to being stuck on the train for a while longer, wondering how long this is gonna take and also feeling some sort of way he can’t identify about Foggy taking care of Jack while he’s not there. He kind of likes Foggy. Kind of. More than he likes most people, anyways.

Matt does show up half an hour later. He feels his way to Eleanor’s Place and pushes open the door. He listens for Jack’s heartbeat, but doesn’t need to wait very long to figure it out; Jack comes hurtling at his legs and jumps at the last moment. Matt ducks down and catches him, swinging him up into the air.

“Hey, kid,” Matt says. He settles Jack on his hip and Jack kisses him on the cheek. “Where are you sitting?”

“Over there!” Jack says, squirming to be let down. He takes Matt by the hand and drags him over to his table with Foggy.

“Did you get eggs or a burger?” Matt asks, as Jack tugs him down into a seat before climbing up into his lap.

“Both,” Jack tells him.

“Fried egg on a burger,” Foggy explains. “A classic.”

“I can’t thank you enough,” Matt says. “The train—”

“Oh, yeah, the subway’s abysmal,” Foggy agrees. “It’s the absolute worst. We’ve had more than a few late parents these last few days.”

“Sam’s mom  _ and  _ Dennis’ moms were late today, too,” Jack tells him.

“They sure were,” Foggy agrees.

“But not burger-late,” Jack says. Matt listens to him drag his plate over and start eating again. “You should get something to eat, Daddy.”

“Oh, I don’t want to keep Foggy here longer than he has to be,” Matt tells him.

“Eat, buddy,” Foggy says. “I’ve got nowhere to be. Besides, who could leave the good company of the Murdocks?”

“Nobody,” Jack says, mouth full.

“Chew your food,” Matt tells him. Jack drops his head back against Matt’s shoulder and groans, but he does as he’s told. Matt kisses the top of his head. “Got braided again?”

“Mr. Nelson’s really good at it,” Jack says. “I love it.”

“You should let your hair grow out more,” Matt tells him, as the waitress comes over to their table.

“Can I get you something to eat?” she asks. Matt turns to Foggy.

“What’s good here?” Matt asks him. He hears Foggy’s heartbeat trip, and he frowns slightly.

“I’m eating the meatloaf,” Foggy answers. His voice isn’t any different, so Matt turns his face back up towards the waitress.

“Meatloaf, please,” Matt says.

“And a glass of water,” Jack adds.

“Yes, that.” Matt puts a hand on Jack’s head. “Thanks, Jack.”

“You’re welcome, Daddy.” Jack leans his head up and kisses Matt’s cheek. “Was work good?”

“Yes, work was good,” Matt said. “The train wasn’t so good, though.”

“No, it wasn’t,” Jack agrees.

“How was school?”

“School was good,” Jack answers.

“Well, don’t flatter me,” Foggy says. Jack laughs.

“It  _ was  _ good,” Jack tells him. “I had a good day. I learned that ten times ten is one hundred.”

“What a big day,” Matt comments. Jack nods against his chest.

“Oh, and he’s great at times tables,” Foggy tells him. It’s so easy for Foggy to  _ talk,  _ Matt learns. He keeps conversation flowing through dinner. He gets Jack talking about everything he does at school, and  _ also  _ everything he does at home. Jack’s halfway through a story about some game he and Dani made up when Matt feels for the hands on his watch and realizes how late it is.

“Oh, Foggy, I’m so sorry,” Matt says. They’ve been done eating for at least an hour. Matt didn’t realize just how comfortable he got with Foggy, or how comfortable Jack is with him, or he with them. It feels natural. Matt wonders if all elementary school teachers are this warm and welcoming, or if Foggy’s just special.

Matt’s inclined to believe that Foggy’s special.

“What’re you sorry about now, Murdock? The weather? The black eye? What?” Foggy asks, laughing.

“I just realized how late it got,” Matt tells him. He’s laughing, too, and he’s even more willing to admit that Foggy’s pretty special, because he doesn’t open up to just anyone. Or to anyone at all, that much, really. “I should probably be getting Jack home, anyways.”

“Aw, Dad,” Jack says. Matt shifts and lifts him up, setting him on his feet on the ground. Jack yawns and leans into him as he stands himself. Matt only lasts another second before he caves and picks Jack up, holding him against his chest. He’s six, so he’s not even close to being too old for this. Matt’ll keep holding him until he can’t anymore.

“Nah, Jack, he’s right, we both have to be at school in the morning,” Foggy says. “Don’t get me started on how school starts far too early for growing brains. It’s disgusting.”

“I agree,” Matt says, at the same time Jack says, “Yeah!”

“I’ll take the check,” Matt says to the waitress, before Foggy can say anything.

“Hey—”

“No, you took Jack here, I’m treating,” Matt argues. “No buts.”

“Alright, well, if you insist,” Foggy says. It sounds like he’s smiling. “Well, what a wonderful date we’ve had, Matt Murdock.”

It’s Matt’s heart that trips this time. “Yeah?”

Foggy laughs. “See you tomorrow, Jackie.”

“See you tomorrow!” Jack exclaims.

“I’ll be at drop-off,” Matt tells him. Foggy claps him on the shoulder and leaves the diner without answering Matt’s question. Matt hands cash from his wallet over to the waitress and shifts his grip on Jack. Jack seems like he’s dozing as Matt carries him out of the diner and down the street to the subway station.

“Hey, Daddy?” Jack asks.

“Yeah?” Matt answers, as he takes a seat on the train and shuffles Jack into his lap. Jack yawns, breath warm on Matt’s neck.

“Other kids at school have two parents,” Jack says, and Matt knows where this is going even before Jack finishes by saying, “Maybe Mr. Nelson can be my second parent?”

Matt almost chokes on the breath he’s inhaling. Jack  _ had  _ a second parent, but Elektra hasn’t wanted anything to do with him since he was born, so Jack doesn’t really ever think of her or ask about her. Matt didn’t even know he’d been thinking about needing a second parent.

“What, you need two of me?” Matt asks. Jack huffs a laugh. He’s half-asleep.

“I dunno,” Jack says. “I just like him a lot. I think he likes me, too.”

“I’m sure he does,” Matt tells him.

“He likes you, too.” Jack reaches out and takes one of Matt’s hands in both of his. “Do you like him?”

“Uhh,” Matt says, eloquently. “Yeah, I— guess so. He’s nice.”

“Yeah,” Jack agrees.

“I don’t know if I can do that,” Matt says. Jack shrugs.

“Think about it,” Jack says, and Matt laughs.

“Oh, sure, I will,” Matt tells him. Jack nods and finishes falling asleep. Matt just rubs his back all the way to their stop.

* * *

Matt ducks into an alley halfway through his and Luke’s fight with Big Ben Donovan to text Foggy. They’ve been sort of texting on and off for a couple of weeks, but now, he actually has a reason to text him. He’s going to be late picking Jack up again, and he needs to tell Foggy before he forgets, so he crouches behind a dumpster and shoots off a text.

“You busy, Daredevil?” Luke calls to him. Matt shoves his phone back into the zip pocket of his costume and dives back into the fray, quipping back and forth with Luke. Between the two of them, Donovan’s not much of a threat, but it still takes a bit to knock him down for good and get him arrested. Luke stays with him and waves at Matt.

“I know you keep checking the time, go get your boy,” Luke says. Matt offers him a half-hearted salute, Luke laughs, and Matt leaves. He goes home and strips off the Daredevil suit, flinging it under his bed before he changes into workout clothes again and heads for the school. Foggy and Jack are inside the school again, and Matt gets to the classroom and opens his arms. Jack comes running at him.

“Uncle Luke was on the news!” Jack exclaims. “Mr. Nelson saw it on his phone!”

“Oh, was he?” Matt asks. His blood runs a little cold hearing that, and he’s  _ got  _ to talk to Jack about what they do and do not say in front of other people, but nobody seems to be freaking out. Foggy hasn’t said anything yet. “Is Uncle Luke okay?”

“Yeah,” Jack says. “Daredevil helped him.”

“Cool,” Matt says. He’s gonna make a  _ detailed chart  _ of what they do and don’t say.

“Hey, Jack, can you go get your folder and backpack together?” Foggy says. Jack nods and leaves Matt to run to the cubbies and coat racks in the corner of the room. In the next moment, Foggy is very close to Matt. “Hey, bud, I got a question for you.”

“Yeah?” Matt asks. “Jack okay?”

“Oh, he’s fine,” Foggy says. “Nah, it’s you. Are you Daredevil?”

Matt’s breath punches out all at once, and he feels the blood drain out of his face. “Wh— Foggy, I— That’s—”

“Whenever there’s an alert on my security app about Daredevil, you’re late,” Foggy says, interrupted Matt’s poor attempts to make up an excuse. “When I see pictures of him, you’ve got the same— mouth. Area. And whenever Daredevil takes a hit, you show up with a bruise. Plus, Jack’s not exactly tight-lipped.” Foggy’s hand lands on Matt’s shoulder, a burning point of contact, and Matt suddenly wants to tell him  _ everything.  _ It’s an absurd urge. Foggy might be… a friend? Maybe? But he’s also Jack’s  _ teacher  _ and the lines are all becoming so  _ blurred  _ and Matt has  _ no idea  _ what to do.

“I…” Matt says. “Uhh.”

“Dude,” Foggy says. “You’re protecting the  _ city.  _ If you want me to watch your kid a little bit while you do it, I don’t mind helping. I just don’t want anything to happen to you.”

Matt’s head is  _ spinning.  _ It’s so much to take in at once. Jack runs back over in that moment, and Matt’s hand lands on the top of his head. His hair is braided again. Foggy braids his son’s hair. He watches him after school. He texts Matt funny pictures with captions describing them. He takes Jack to get dinner. He knows Matt’s biggest secret.

“What’s wrong?” Jack asks. Foggy doesn’t say anything. Matt can feel their eyes on him.

“Foggy found out about Daredevil,” Matt tells him, after a long moment. Foggy exhales on a half-laugh.

“What… do you mean?” Jack asks, hesitantly. He’s still trying to keep Matt’s secret. Bless him.

“He knows that I’m Daredevil,” Matt clarifies. Jack’s hand slips into Matt’s. “It’s okay, Jack. He wants to help.”

“You want to help?” Jack asks. Matt hears Foggy’s hair brush his shoulders as he nods. “You  _ can  _ be my second dad!”

“What?” Foggy asks, laughing now, as Matt wishes the ground would open up and swallow him whole.

“He has a— concept, that we  _ talked about,”  _ Matt says, firmly, in Jack’s direction, “about getting a second parent, and he set his sights on you.”

“Jackie, I’m your teacher,” Foggy says. His heart’s pounding. Matt cocks his head to the side slightly, listening. He smiles a little. His own heart’s pounding, too.

“You can do both jobs,” Jack insists. “Think about it.”

Matt smiles. “I am kind of… stressed out. Balancing all of it, I mean. I may take you up on your offer.”

“You need a second dad?” Foggy jokes. Matt’s smile becomes a full-blown grin. Everyone’s hearts are pounding.

“I need help,” Matt tells him. “Not easy to be Daredevil and a dad.”

“Dad-devil,” Jack says, laughing. Foggy pats Matt on the shoulder.

“You call any time, Devil of Hell’s Kitchen,” Foggy tells him. “Any time at all. Foggy Nelson’s here for the Murdocks.”

“And the Murdocks are here for Mr. Nelson,” Jack chimes in.

“Of course we are,” Matt agrees. Foggy’s heart speeds up. Matt pats his hand. They go their separate ways outside the school, and Matt wishes, intensely, that they were going the same way.

* * *

Only two days later, Matt’s late again. He should’ve just signed Jack up for the after-school program when the school year started, but, he’s got Foggy now, so.

So.

He’s not sure what it all means.

_ Gonna be late,  _ Matt texts to Foggy.  _ Daredevil stuff. _

Foggy sends back what his phone describes as  _ devil-horn-winking-emoji,  _ and Matt laughs before pocketing his phone and running out to finish taking down this guy who just calls himself  _ Ox.  _ It doesn’t take long; Matt’s thinking about Foggy and Jack the whole time. It’s not a new thing, this train of thought, but it’s a very good-feeling thing. Matt’s changed and heading to the school before he knows it, and then he’s in Foggy’s classroom, his arms full of Jack, and Foggy’s laughing while he tells Matt about Jack’s misadventures with puff paint that day. His life is pretty much perfect right now, but it could be a little bit better.

“Hey, I like being able to tell somebody besides Jack the truth,” Matt says, partway through Foggy’s story. Foggy and Jack both go quiet for a second. Matt wishes he could see them. “Thanks for being… a good friend. To us.”

“Maybe Mr. Nelson can be our real friend and come over for dinner and hang out with us,” Jack suggests, before anyone else can  _ say  _ anything else. Matt huffs a laugh. He can hear Jack’s heart pounding; he’s onto the kid’s games, but, also, he offered in front of Foggy, so it’s not like Matt’s gonna take it  _ back. _

It’s not like Matt even  _ wants  _ to take it back.

“Come over,” Matt says, because he trusts Foggy. Foggy’s quiet for a moment.

“Sure, sure,” Foggy answers. “Yeah, that sounds great, Jack. Lead the way.”

“Okay!” Jack exclaims, shoving his arms through the sleeves of his coat and grabbing Matt’s hand with one hand and one of Foggy’s hands with the other. Matt wants this  _ forever,  _ and the sudden intensity of the feeling is more than Matt could have ever expected. Jack in between them, with Matt on one side and Foggy on the other, chattering away to the both of them. The subway ride seems short. The walk to Matt’s apartment seems short. There’s never enough time with Foggy.

“How does spaghetti sound?” Matt asks.

“Tuesdays are spaghetti nights,” Jack explains.

“Then spaghetti sounds great,” Foggy agrees. He insists on helping Matt, and that means Jack insists on helping, so Jack sits on Matt’s shoulders and gives them instructions while Foggy and Matt do the actual cooking. Eventually, Matt’s phone rings, and he puts Jack on the floor to answer it.

“Hey, Murdock, it’s urgent,” Danny says, before either of them even says hello. “Can you get down to Times Square right now?”

Matt turns back to listen to Foggy and Jack. From the sounds of it, Jack’s on Foggy’s shoulders now, laughing hard enough to lose his breath as he tries to explain how to make the sauce, and Foggy keeps purposefully getting it wrong.

“I…” Matt starts to say. He hears them both stop talking, and Foggy turning towards him.

“What’s up, Matt?” Foggy asks.

“Danny’s on the phone,” Matt says.

“Iron Fist?” Foggy asks, at the same time Jack says, “What does Uncle Danny want? Spaghetti?”

“No, not spaghetti,” Matt says. “Yes, Iron Fist. He needs help.”

“Then, go help, Daredevil,” Foggy tells him. Matt  _ really  _ likes him. “I’ll watch Jack, if you want. You can go.”

Matt  _ doesn’t  _ want. He  _ doesn’t  _ want to go, because he doesn’t want to leave this moment. On the phone, Danny says, “Matt?”

“I’m so sorry,” Matt says, to Foggy and Jack. He puts the phone back to his ear. “I’ll be right down.”

“Thanks, man,” Danny says, and hangs up. Matt changes into the Daredevil armor pretty quickly, and when he comes out, he hears Foggy’s breath catch. He wonders what it means. He thinks he knows, but he doesn’t want to assume. Or anything.

“I’ll be back soon,” Matt says. Jack hugs him goodbye. Matt and Foggy hesitate for a second before Foggy steps in and hugs him, too. It’s unexpected and warm and wonderful. Matt leaves them there to go help Danny.

* * *

When Matt gets home, it’s late. He knows it’s nearly midnight. He can hear, as he comes through the front door, that Jack’s fast asleep in his bed, in his room. His teeth are brushed; Matt can smell the mint. Matt shuts his door behind himself and yanks his helmet off, dumping it on the floor. Foggy’s half-asleep on the couch; he startles when he hears the helmet hit the ground.

“Matt?” Foggy asks, groggy, and Matt wants to hear that sound again and again. He strips the armor off to the waist and goes to Foggy, putting a hand on his shoulder. “Oh, thank God it’s you, I didn’t want to have to fight off an intruder. I mean, I would’ve, but I didn’t want to.”

“A hero,” Matt deadpans. “Do you want to stay overnight? It’s late.”

“No, no, all my stuff for school tomorrow is at my place,” Foggy says, dragging himself up off the couch. Matt leads him to the door, then stops there.

“I can’t thank you enough,” Matt says, once they’re in the open front doorway.

“Nah, it’s all good,” Foggy tells him.

“For everything,” Matt continues. “For— understanding. For watching Jack after school. For taking him out to dinner. For being good. For being our friend. I can’t thank you enough, for all of it. It means the world to me, to both of us.”

“It’s no problem,” Foggy says, for the millionth time. His heartbeat is fast, loud. So is Matt’s. Foggy leans in a little. Matt meets him halfway, and they kiss, and it’s  _ amazing.  _ It’s everything that Matt’s building up to, everything they’ve been moving towards. They’ve both been going up two sides of the same mountain, and this is the peak, and Matt laughs into the kiss.

“What’s so funny?” Foggy asks, grinning.

“I’ve wanted this for a while,” Matt says. “I’m getting sappy about it in my own head.”

“Then come out of your own head,” Foggy tells him.

“My apologies, Mr. Nelson.” Matt cups Foggy’s head in his gloved hands and kisses him again, and again, and again. It’s amazing.

* * *

_ Gonna be late,  _ Matt texts Foggy. His phone buzzes with a response mere moments later.

_ No rush,  _ Matt’s phone reads out to him. Matt pockets the phone and leans back in his seat on the train. It’s a packed train, but everybody got out of the way and offered a seat to a blind man with a black eye and a baby strapped to his chest. Matt smiled appropriately and sat, and the train instantly stopped, and now Matt’s just trying to keep Molly asleep so she doesn’t wake up and start screaming in the stuffed train car.

It takes twenty more minutes to make it back home from the daycare center. When he gets there, Foggy and Jack are already home, working on Tuesday’s spaghetti dinner. Matt lets himself in and makes his way to the kitchen, where Jack shouts his greeting in excitement and startles Molly awake.

“And how was our day?” Foggy asks.

“It was fine,” Matt replies, and Foggy clicks his tongue at him.

“I wasn’t talking to you,” Foggy says, lifting Molly out of the baby carrier. “Was I? Nope, I was talking to you, wasn’t I?”

“You’re such an ass,” Matt laughs.

“Swear jar, Daddy,” Jack tells him. Matt digs a dime out of his pocket and flips it into the swear jar across the counter.

“Show-off,” Foggy comments. Matt grins in his direction.

“How was school?” he asks.

“Good,” Foggy and Jack answer at the same time. There’s a brief scuffle as Foggy flicks at Jack’s ear and Jack bats him away, groaning,  _ “Dad,  _ come  _ on—” _

Matt’s pleased, as Molly gets shoved back into his arms while Foggy fights Jack off, yanking him up off the ground and into a headlock, ruffling his hair while Jack shrieks and laughs. Jack knocks into his legs, and spaghetti sauce spills, and Foggy talks about the craft that got fucked up at school, and Matt’s just so fucking  _ happy. _

**Author's Note:**

> I also actually wrote some books! It was a long road but, I did it! Ta-da! If you want to read either of them, shoot me a message!
> 
> I have a blog now to request imagines - I just like to make people happy. Submit requests [here!](https://imagine-in-the-fandoms.tumblr.com/ask)
> 
> You can follow me on Twitter at [@nicolelianesolo](https://twitter.com/nicoIodeon) or on Tumblr at [andillwriteyouatragedy](http://andillwriteyouatragedy.tumblr.com/).


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